


I Don't Need The World When I Have You

by Not_So_Mundane_After_All_97



Category: Titans (TV 2018)
Genre: Dreams and Nightmares, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Father-Daughter Relationship, Fluff, Post-Season/Series 01
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-28
Updated: 2019-07-28
Packaged: 2020-07-24 00:07:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20017003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Not_So_Mundane_After_All_97/pseuds/Not_So_Mundane_After_All_97
Summary: Rachel has a nightmare and Dick is there to comfort her, simple as that.





	I Don't Need The World When I Have You

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah, I didn't have any idea for the summary. I'm back with another story about my favorite father-daughter duo on tv. I miss them and I'm starving for the new content and season 2 is just 6 weeks away. Seriously, September 6th can't come soon enough and WHERE'S THAT DAMN TRAILER?? Anyway, I hope you enjoy. 
> 
> Side note: The location of "their new place" is based on the set photos and videos I've seen on Instagram - they've been shooting in this beautiful house by the sea, there are rumors this is supposed to be the Titans Tower. It looks like they're going to be spending a lot of time there so I decided to use it.

_ Rachel walks into the circus tent almost on autopilot. She knows it's a dream, she's had that exact dream many times before – although it's the first time knowing that what she's dreaming about  _ actually happened _. She had always known, in a way – all of that looked too real to be just a dream. But she never had any real proof before. _

_ Until she met Dick, of course. _

_ She remembers how everything just clicked in her head when he entered that interrogation room. How...  _ familiar _ he felt to her even though she was sure she never met the guy before. Then he introduced himself and everything became clear – the flashes of his memories when she touched his hand were only a further confirmation. _

_ When she hears the faint sound of music, Rachel resist the urge to roll her eyes. Every second of this damn nightmare is already imprinted in her brain (and there's video footage online) and she  _ really _ doesn't want to go through that again – she doesn't want to watch  _ him  _ go through that again.  _

_ She enters the empty stage as the music disappears. Something is wrong though. She feels... different. It's colder. The quiet is almost painful. And before she has the chance to react, she's being pulled from the ground by some invisible force, and suddenly she's the one in the air, so high she can't see the ground anymore, just darkness.  _

_ “Rachel...” _

_ She looks up when she hears her name. She knows that voice too well. Dick is standing on a ramp on the other side of the stage, even higher than she is. But it's not the boy from the circus. It's the man she knows now. How is he here? _

_ “Dick? What are you-” she stops the moment his eyes meet hers. Because they are  _ black _. She can see it even in the darkness of the place. The same eyes she sees in her reflection. The same eyes he had when her father took control over him, back in Ohio. It makes her blood freeze. _

_ And then she hears it. _

_ “I've released your friend from a terrible burden.” _

_ Trigon's words echo around and Rachel wants nothing more than to wake up. Because it's still a dream, right? It must be a dream, it can't be happening again. _

_ Her mother's voice comes next. _

_ “And, with Trigon's blessing, he's part of the family now.” _

_ A pair of giant, red, glowing eyes appear behind Dick's back. Then the second one. The sound of evil laughter seems to be coming from every direction and suddenly, Dick is falling.  _

_ “No!” She cries and reaches out to him, but just like when he tried to save his parents, her hands miss him by a heartbeat. Everything is happening in slow motion – his fingers brush hers but she's unable to grab him. She screams as she's watching him fall into the darkness. The last thing she can notice is his eyes. _

_ They're not black anymore. _

_ *** _

_   
_ “Rachel, wake up! It's just a dream!”

The strong yet gentle hands on her shoulders bring her back to reality.

She's sitting in her bed, the sheets tangled up around her legs. The room is illuminated by the light of the full moon coming from the large windows and she can hear a faint sound of waves on the beach outside. They are in their new place, Donna had brought them here few days ago.

As Rachel is looking around the room, she meets Dick's gaze. His eyes are not black, thank God – instead they are filled with concern and affection.

“Dick?” she breathes out and realizes she can barely breathe, like she just ran a marathon. She's covered in sweat, her hands are shaking and it hurts to speak – was she really screaming?

“It's okay, I'm here.”

The relief is so strong, she would've fallen back on her pillow if it wasn't for his hands still on her shoulders. His eyes are glued to her face, looking for a sign she's okay.

She falls into his arms instead, resting her head on his shoulder.

“You're okay...” she sighs, that's all she has the strength for right now. She can feel him adjust his position, so he can sit comfortably on her bed, as he pulls her closer to him. He ends up cradling her in his lap, his arms tight around her back, her forehead pressed to the crook of his neck.

“I'm okay,” he confirms. “We're both okay.”

His large hand moves from her back to her head and brushes her hair gently.

“Breathe, Rachel. I'm right here.”

Rachel feels his chest moving as he inhales and she repeats the action. He takes her hand and places it on his chest, right above his heart.

“Just focus on my heartbeat, okay?” 

She nods as she feels the strong and steady beats under her fingers.   
They sit like that for a few minutes, just breathing together. She can feel herself calm down, breath by breath, beat by beat. 

“Better?” he asks and she lifts her head to look at him when she nods. His hand slides down to her back again.

“Good. Another nightmare?”

She nods again and leans her head back on his shoulder. His hold tightens. 

“Wanna tell me about it?”

The dream flashes before her eyes again and she shakes her head. She can't go through that again.

“It's nothing...”

But Dick doesn't give up.

“Rachel, you were screaming again. It's not nothing.”

He's right – it's not the first time she's had this dream. These nightmares are haunting her since that day. It's been almost two weeks, and they are a long way from Ohio right now, but they still linger. Dick has tried to get her to tell him about them before, but she always refused. He already worries about her so much. She won't give him another reason to do so. 

“Listen, whatever it was – it wasn't real. You can tell me.” he whispers and she looks at him. His eyes are filled with warmth and love. The feeling of safety envelopes her.

“It felt so real.” she says finally. “I can't do this anymore, Dick. I'm so tired of those nightmares.”

He tucks her hair behind her ear and brushes her cheek with his thumb, his touch loving and gentle. His eyes don't leave hers even for a second.

“I know, honey.” He then smiles encouragingly. “Maybe if you tell me, it will go away? Come on, Rach – it's worth the try.”

She thinks about it for a second – he already knows it's bad, it's not like she hasn't been waking him up with her screams almost every night for the past ten days. He probably even expected her to have nightmares, because the moment they came to this place, he gave her the bedroom right next to his own – that or he's just being overprotective. Probably both, knowing him.

So she might as well tell him everything – and she does. He listens in silence, not interrupting even when she stops talking to find the right words – it's really hard to describe this dream. When she gets to the part where he's falling and she can't catch him, she can't help but cry again and his arms immediately tighten around her even more as he pulls her to his chest and starts to rock her gently.

“Shh, it's okay now. I'm right here." he whispers. "I'm not going anywhere." He then moves his head to press a loving kiss to her forehead and she cuddles herself closer to him. 

"It's so s-scary" she sobs into his shirt. "It's always the same. Y-you fall and- and I can't c-catch you…" 

"Shh… I'm here, Rach. Right here."

"I don't want to lose you. I can't-"

She feels the gentle touch of his fingers as they slip under her chin and lift her head to meet his eyes.

"Hey, you are not losing me, okay? Never." 

Dick rests his hand on her cheek and wipes her tears away. 

"But everyone always leave me…"

"I won't." 

He leans in and touches their foreheads together, his hand cradling the back of her head. Rachel feels as the tension leaves her body and she relaxes into his touch. For the first time in a long time she feels loved and wanted and… safe. 

She hears Dick's faint whisper after a moment, so quiet she wouldn't be able to hear it if he wasn't so close.

"I know I screwed up before. I made promises and didn't keep them. And for that I'm so sorry. But I almost lost you back there. Because I left again, like the idiot I am." 

She looks up and meets his eyes. The guilt and regret they bare is almost too much for her. But it proves that he's being completely honest with her. It's not like she hasn't forgiven him for his past mistakes - she has, long ago. But they never talked about it before. 

She doesn't look away when he continues.

"I almost lost you and that scared the hell out of me. Before I met you… I felt empty. And for a long time I was in a dark place." he admits and Rachel is surprised by how open he is with her. She waits patiently, letting him gather his thoughts. "But then I found you - I found someone who needed me. And that let me right back to… life, I guess."

Rachel sucks a breath when he says that. Yes, they grew close in this short time they've known each other, but Rachel always thought all of this is going to be temporary. Especially every time he left. But every time he left, every time she thought it was over, he came back. He didn't have to, the last thing she wanted was to chain him to herself - but he did come back to her, every damn time. Hearing him saying all those things now, Rachel can't help but feel overwhelmed with emotion. Her eyes fill with tears again, happy ones this time, and Dick is quick to wipe them away.

"You're everything to me." he says after a moment and his breath hitches. She meets his eyes again, only to find them filled with his own unshed tears, shining in the moonlight. "And you are not going to lose me. Because I'm not going anywhere, Rachel. Not now, not ever. I promise."

It's the first time in her life someone has said those words to her, and actually meant it. She was always alone, even when she lived with Melisa. Yes, the woman raised her, and loved her in her own way, but there's no denying she has always been afraid of Rachel. Like everyone else. People didn't need to know about her powers to run away from her. To find someone who's willing to stay no matter what, who's not afraid of her and who genuinely cares - Rachel can't help but feel grateful. She smiles at him as the new tears fall down her face.

"But why?" she asks anyway, because her brain is too slow right now. A part of her still thinks this is just another dream and she's gonna wake up any moment now.

"Because I love you, that's why."

His answer seems so obvious and simple, yet it knocks the air out of her lungs.

"From now on - no leaving." he continues. "I'm always gonna be here, okay? I'm going to take care of you, and protect you, and I swear I will never leave you again. Any time without you is far too long, anyway." he jokes and they both laugh at that.

"You deserve so much better than me, Rachel, you deserve the world. But I'm going to try." 

She rolls her eyes but smiles anyway. Will he ever stop downplaying himself?

"I don't need the world when I have you, silly." she says and throws herself at him with a hug. They laugh as they fall down on the bed and Rachel instantly tucks herself to his side, burying her face in his chest. His strong arms envelope her small frame and he pulls her closer to him.

His arms are the safest place in the world and she can feel herself drift back to sleep.

"I love you too, Dick." she whispers into his shirt, her eyes already closing. Before she falls asleep completely, she can feel his lips on her forehead again, as he places another kiss there. 

"Sleep, baby. I'll be right here."

_ I know you will _ she thinks as she drifts off. 


End file.
